On July 20th, 1969, hundreds of millions of people all over the world gathered around televisions and radios to listen to the words that mark what today we consider the end of the space race.
"Houston, ... The
eagle has landed", "That's one small step for a man..." Are
phrases that are well known across the world as humanity finally reached to
land on the moon. I cannot imagine what that must've felt for the generation
who got to live it, but I see its impact on society. Ever since that day,
science has received massive support from governments and everyday more and
more projects and proposals are created to push forward the boundaries of humankind.
The rocket Saturn V was
the one responsible for all the six successful missions to the moon and now
after years of development the Space Launch System (SLS) will carry the
responsibility of the next generation going to the moon. If you are not
familiar with it, the SLS is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch
vehicle which is being developed in three major phases with increasing
capabilities: the first phase denominated Block 1 will be carrying an uncrewed
Orion spacecraft on a flight that should last approximately 8 minutes before
reaching low-Earth orbit or LEO as it is known. From there on it will prepare
for a Trans-lunar injection (TLI) to ensure that Orion will reach the moon and
future missions that target deep space exploration. A TLI is a propulsive
maneuver used to set a spacecraft on its trajectory to the moon. By increasing
the spacecraft velocity, changing its orbit from LEO to a highly eccentric orbit,
the spacecraft begins cruising on the lunar transfer arc, its trajectory
approximates an elliptical orbit about the Earth with an apogee near to the
radius of the Moon's orbit. With the right size and timing of the TLI burn the
spacecraft targets the Moon as it revolves around the Earth. This first flight
will mark the beginning of the Artemis program.
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| The Space Launch System block 1 Configuration. |
The Artemis program seeks
to reestablish a human presence on the moon since its last time with Apollo 17
in 1972. This time the plan is to create a lunar gateway (sort of a small space
station). The long-term vision of the program is to establish a permanent base
camp on the Moon that will be used to facilitate human missions to Mars.
The first mission
officially named Artemis I, will last for three weeks and will test all the
rocket stages and spacecraft that would be used in later missions. After
performing a TLI it will deploy CubeSat Satellites. These satellites will be
used to test long-distance CubeSat communications technology, exploration of
ice water on the moon using infrared, and some biological research.
According to plan, Artemis 2 will perform a crewed lunar flyby and will take
place in 2024. Artemis 3 will perform a crewed lunar landing in 2025, the
Artemis 4 docking with the Lunar Gateway in 2027 and future yearly landings on
the Moon thereafter. After so many years of talks and exposition about
colonizing Mars and creating a future where interspace flight is possible this
mission will officially be the start of a new era.
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html
- https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/moon-to-living-room-apollo-11-broadcast
- https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
- https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/to-the-moon.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T8cn2J13-4&t=40s
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_1
- https://www.spacescout.info/2021/10/four-artemis-i-cubesats-miss-their-ride/
